Transport container assembly

ABSTRACT

A transport container assembly is provided for transporting temperature-sensitive material. The container includes a housing assembly that defines an interior cavity that provides a stable temperature environment therein. The housing includes a shell and a phase control material (PCM) within the shell. The shell defines an internal volume and the PCM is confined within the internal volume.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional App. No. 61/889,031, filed Oct. 10, 2013, which is incorporated by reference.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates generally to containers for transporting within a controlled environment and, more particularly, to containers for transporting material that is temperature sensitive.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Biological and medical materials are routinely transported among medical facilities, e.g., clinics, hospitals, and laboratories. Several issues need to be considered with regard to transporting medical and other laboratory materials, such as contamination, damage, and viability of the transported material.

Temperature control during transportation is an important consideration for many items during transport. For example, blood samples for testing must be maintained within tight temperature ranges to ensure accurate lab results. Moreover, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) requires documented temperature tracking for the transport blood, blood products, human tissues, stem cells, and donor organs, for use in certain circumstances.

Transporting such materials, e.g., blood and blood products always were a problem. Generally, the health care industry has relied on products developed and manufactured for the recreational industry for keeping food and beverages cold as a working solution. However, this generic approach has shortfalls. Current approaches for transporting such materials are expensive. Often, such methods do not meet criteria of the product being shipped. Often, overnight shipping required to meet temperature parameters.

It should, therefore, be appreciated that there exists a need for a transport container assembly that meets these needs.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Briefly, and in general terms, the invention provides a transport container assembly for transporting temperature-sensitive material. The container includes a housing assembly that defines an interior cavity that provides a stable temperature environment therein. The housing includes a shell and a phase control material (PCM) within the shell. The shell defines an internal volume and the PCM is confined within the internal volume.

More particularly, by way of example only and not limitation, the housing includes a first side and a second side that mate with each other to define the interior cavity therebetween. Each side includes a shell and a phase control material (PCM) within the shell. The shells each define an internal volume and the PCM is confined within the internal volume

In an exemplary embodiment, the shells of the first and the second sides each include an opening for inserting the PCM within internal volume and a cap that closes the opening.

In a detailed aspect of an exemplary embodiment, the first side and the second side are mounted to a tray assembly having a hinge disposed therebetween. The tray assembly includes a cover portion having a planar rigid support that is sandwiched between planar thermal sheets.

In another detailed aspect of an exemplary embodiment,

For purposes of summarizing the invention and the advantages achieved or implemented over the prior art, certain advantages of the invention have been described herein. Of course, it is to be understood that not necessarily all such advantages may be achieved or implemented in accordance with any particular embodiment of the invention. Thus, for example, those skilled in the art will recognize that the invention may be embodied or carried out in a manner that achieves, optimizes, or implements one advantage or group of advantages as taught herein without necessarily achieving or implementing other advantages as may be taught or suggested herein.

All of these embodiments are intended to be within the scope of the invention herein disclosed. These and other embodiments of the present invention will become readily apparent to those skilled in the art from the following detailed description of the preferred embodiments having reference to the attached figures, the invention not being limited to any particular preferred embodiment disclosed.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Embodiments of the present invention will now be described, by way of example only, with reference to the following drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a first embodiment of a transport container assembly in accordance with the invention, depicting a tray assembly and a shipping carton for housing the tray assembly.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a tray assembly of the transport container assembly of FIG. 1, depicting the tray assembly opened exposing defined recesses for securing specimen containers, e.g., collection tubes for biological material.

FIG. 3 is cross sectional view of the tray assembly of FIG. 2, depicting a planar support disposed between thermal sheets and exterior sheets of the tray assembly, as well as insulating structures with phase control material (PCM).

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of second embodiment of a transport container assembly in accordance with the invention, depicting an exterior view of the transport container.

FIG. 5 is a perspective view of the transport container assembly of FIG. 4, depicting the interior of the container assembly, which defines two pre-formed cavities for receiving specimen vials.

FIG. 6 is a perspective view of third embodiment of a transport container assembly in accordance with the invention, depicting an exterior view of the transport container having a carrying handle.

FIG. 7 is a perspective view of the transport container assembly of FIG. 6, depicting the interior of the container assembly, which defines five pre-formed cavities for receiving specimen vials.

FIG. 8 is a perspective view of a fourth embodiment of a transport container assembly in accordance with the invention, depicting the shipping container, a tray assembly, and a housing (PCM) having insulating phase control material (PCM), wherein the housing is nested within the tray assembly which in turn is received within the shipping container.

FIG. 9 is a perspective view of a fifth embodiment of a transport container assembly in accordance with the invention, similar to FIG. 12, in which the tray assembly is excluded, rather the PCM housing is inserted directly into the shipping container.

FIG. 10 is a perspective view of a sixth embodiment of a transport container assembly in accordance with the invention, similar to FIG. 8, further comprising a vial bio container assembly that is configured to be received within the PCM housing for shipment.

FIG. 11 is a perspective view of the vial assembly of the transport assembly of FIG. 14, depicting a vial, the intermediate vial container and an exterior vial container that are sized to such that the vial nests within the immediate container which in turn nests within the exterior container.

FIG. 12 is a perspective view of a seventh embodiment of a transport container assembly in accordance with the invention, similar to FIG. 12, excluding the tray assembly and rather comprising a sleeve for receiving the PCM housing, in which the sleeve is formed of bubble wrap material formed of insulating sheets.

FIGS. 13-16 are perspective views of a side of PCM housings of various configurations in accordance with the invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

Referring now to the drawings, there are shown several embodiments of transport container assemblies for shipping medical materials, such as, vials of blood for laboratory testing, in accordance with the present invention. These container assemblies are configured to provide a stable temperature environment for the material housed therein throughout shipment. More particularly, the container assemblies maintain this temperature environment for long durations even when exposed to extreme external temperature environments. In this manner, the transport container assemblies can be used for shipping medical interiors, such as vials of blood valid laboratory testing, using standard mail methods without need of relying upon overnight shipments.

With reference now to FIGS. 1 and 2, a transport container assembly 10 as shown having a tray assembly 12 configured to be disposed within a shipping container 14. The shipping container can be a traditional shipping box, such as cardboard transport boxes, sized to receive the tray assembly. The tray assembly defines an interior compartment 16 sized to conformably receive vials 18 of medical material via recesses 20 defined to secure the vials (see FIG. 2).

In the exemplary embodiment, the tray assembly 12 comprises two conforming sides that couple together via a hinge 22, providing a book style configuration. The tray assembly is opened to access the interior compartments 16 for inserting and removing the vials 22. When closed, the sides conformably mate to obtain the vials within the recesses. In the exemplary embodiment, both the first side 24 and second side 26 contribute to form the recesses for the vials.

With reference now to FIG. 3, a cross-sectional view of the tray assembly 12 is shown. The cover portion 28 of the tray assembly comprises a rigid planar support 30 and thermal insulating material. More particularly, in the exemplary embodiment, the planar support material 30 is sandwiched between two planar thermal sheets 32 (such as, metallized polyethylene terephthalate), and further includes a visible planar exterior 34 that can be used for the logo placement of product branding. In the exemplary embodiment, the planar support 30 is formed by a grayboard paper product. The other materials can be used such as cardboard, corrugated material, or grayboard, such as that used in commercially available “three-ring binder” products. The planar support can be formed by other materials providing sufficient structural support such as plastic, laminated paper printed, plastic, thermoform material, or metal among others.

In the exemplary embodiment, the thermal sheets 32 of the tray assembly 12 is formed of metallized polyethylene terephthalate. The thermal sheets aid in maintaining control temperature environment within the tray assembly isolating the interior cavity from the external environment thereby inhibiting heat transfer therebetween. In other embodiments there is a materials having thermal isolating properties can be used. Alternatively, in certain applications thermal sheets and can be excluded entirely without requiring an invention.

The interior walls 36 of the tray assembly are formed by a thermoform inlay that defines recesses 20 (FIG. 2) for receiving collection vials 18. The interior walls are coupled to the cover 28 of the tray assembly on opposing sides of the hinge 22 such that when the tray assembly is closed, the interior walls securely mate to one another. Moreover, the interior walls provide a surface that can be easily cleaned. In the exemplary embodiment, the interior walls are defined by thermoform plastic; however, in other embodiments various other materials can be used such as thermoform or injection molded—ABS, EPS, HDPE, LDPE, APET, GAG, PET, molded pulp, molded paper, PLA corn plastic, bio plastic, among others. Yet other embodiments, the plastic interior wall can be excluded entirely, as requirements dictate.

With continued reference to FIG. 3, the first side 24 and the second side 26 both include insulating structures 40 that are captured between the interior walls 36 and the cover 28. The insulating structures that not only acts as an insulator but also provides structural support. Insulating structures are shaped to conform with the interior walls depicted in FIG. 5, such as defining the cavities for the collection vials. In the exemplary embodiment, the insulating structures comprises a PCM housing that includes a shell 42 that defines an internal volume that holds a phase control material 44 (PCM), as discussed in further detail below.

In other embodiments, the insulating structures 40 can be formed of various other insulating materials can be used such as ABS expanding foam, styrene, among other. For example, insulating structures can be an EPS foam having a high “R-rating,” such as that commercially available from E. I. du Pont de Nemours and Company, and/or Corning Inc.

Tamper seals can be used to ensure that the container was not opened prior to delivery to the intended recipient. Tamper seals can be provided on the vials, tray assembly, and/or the shipping container, as desired. It should further be appreciated that tamper seals can be used on various other embodiments in accordance with the invention such as those discussed in detail.

With reference now to FIGS. 4 and 5, a transport container assembly 50 is as shown having an exterior assembly formed of molded plastic such as ABS having two sides 54, 56 coupled via hinge 58 and secured by a lock assembly 60. The interior compartment of the transport container assembly defines cavities 62 for receiving specimen vials formed by an insulating structures 64, 66, PCM housing, as discussed above. Although not shown, transport containers and can further include interior walls formed of similar materials discussed above (e.g., FIG. 3 with reference to the interior walls). The transport container can also include thermal sheets disposed between the insulating structure (e.g., EPS foam) and the exterior walls.

With reference now to FIGS. 6 and 7, transport container 70 assembly is shown having a similar construction (and related construction options) as discussed with reference to FIGS. 4 and 5. In this embodiment, the assembly includes a handle and two lock assemblies, and it further defines five recesses therein.

With reference now to FIG. 8, a transport container assembly 80 is shown, having a shipping container 82, a tray assembly 84, and a housing of two sides 86, 88 having PCM having insulating phase control material (PCM). The PCM housing is nested within the tray assembly, which in turn is received within the shipping container.

With reference now to FIG. 9, a transport container assembly 90, similar to that of FIG. 8, can exclude tray assembly. Rather, the PCM housing can be inserted directly into the shipping container. This configuration might be desirable in circumstances in which the anticipated ambient temperature will not adversely influence control temperature with the environment within the container, or wherein a desired temperature range is not particularly should strict.

With reference now to FIGS. 10 and 11, a transport container assembly 100 is shown, similar to that of FIG. 12, further comprising a vial container assembly 102. The vial container assembly sized to be received within the cavity of the PCM housing 86, 88. The vial assembly includes a vial 104, the intermediate vial container 106, and an exterior vial container 108 that are sized to such that the vial nests within the intermediate container, which in turn nests within the exterior container.

With reference now to FIG. 12, a transport container assembly 120 can excludes the tray assembly and rather comprising a sleeve 122 for receiving the PCM housing 86, 88. The sleeve 122 is formed of bubble wrap material that defines a sealable open end for receiving the PCM housing within the confines of the sleeve. In the exemplary embodiment, the sleeve is formed of bubble wrap comprising sheets of metallized polyethylene terephthalate that are formed to define captured gas pockets therebetween. In the exemplary embodiment, the gas pockets have an elongated tubular shape in parallel alignment with one another and argon gas is confined within the gas pockets. Alternatively, various other configurations can be used without departing from the invention.

With reference now to FIGS. 13-16, various embodiments of PCM housings are depicted comprise two sides that mate with each other to provide an internal compartment for receiving material for shipment, such as blood vials. Each side is formed of an external shell that defines an internal volume for receiving PCM. As best seen in FIG. 15, the external shell can include an neck opening 132 through which the PCM material can be poured or otherwise inserted into the external shell during assembly of the housing. A cap is placed on the neck opening to retain the PCM within the shell.

It should be noted that various types of phase change materials (PCM) can be used, including encapsulated PCM, salt hydrates, fatty acids and esters, and various paraffins (such as octadecane), among others. For example, the PCM can be a mixture of salt hydrates having a capacity to store thermal energy as latent heat. Examples of such salt hydrates are available under the trade name SavEnrg™ provided by RGEES LLC, of Candler N.C.

Once PCM material is received within the external shell the opening can be captured or otherwise secured to retain the PCM material within the external shell.

The transport container assembly is configured to maintain a relatively constant temperature, set between −4 degrees F. and 71 degrees (plus/minus 5 degree) when exposed to temperatures extremes while in transport. Tests demonstrate requirements can be maintained in excess of 72 hours.

The sides of the PCM housing are configured to mate with one another in a secure manner. In the exemplary embodiment, the opposing sides of projections and corresponding recesses to provide a secure fit. The opposing sides further defined one or more cavities for receiving vials, and/or file assemblies. Interior cavities can further receives a data logger (sensor assembly) configured to monitor the temperature environment within the PCM housing during shipment, in compliance with the appropriate regulations.

Although in the exemplary embodiments references made primarily to shipment of blood vials for laboratory testing, it should be appreciated that the present invention can be used for shipment of other products or materials, particularly those requiring me maintaining a temperature controlled environment during shipment. For example only, and not limitation, various other biological materials that can utilize the present invention include any type of biological, medical or other laboratory samples such as blood, urine, feces, sperm, eggs, saliva, umbilical fluid, cerebrospinal fluid, biopsy core, bacterial culture and other body fluids, fetes, organs, and limbs of humans and of animals; as well as water for analysis, food fractions for analysis, medications, animals and portion of animals, and other materials, specimens or samples that it may be sought to transport by use of the present invention.

It should be appreciated from the foregoing that the present invention provides a transport container assembly and/or related kit that enables shipment of temperature sensitive materials the cost effective manner. Moreover, transport container assemblies and/or related kits in accordance with the invention enable a modular shipping solution that is lightweight, expandable, and adaptable to the needs of the customer, such as extending the temperature-controlled time period to reduce or eliminate the need for overnight shipping.

The present invention has been described above in terms of presently preferred embodiments so that an understanding of the present invention can be conveyed. However, there are other embodiments not specifically described herein for which the present invention is applicable. Therefore, the present invention should not to be seen as limited to the forms shown, which is to be considered illustrative rather than restrictive. Accordingly, the invention is defined only be the claims set forth below. 

What is claimed is:
 1. A transport container assembly for transporting temperature-sensitive material, comprising: a housing assembly that defines an interior cavity that provides a stable temperature environment for securing biological material therein, the housing includes a first side and a second side that mate with each other to define the interior cavity therebetween, the first side includes a shell and a phase control material (PCM) within the shell, the shell defines an internal volume and the PCM is confined within the internal volume, and the second side includes a shell and a phase control material (PCM) within the shell, the shell defines an internal volume and the PCM is confined within the internal volume.
 2. The transport container assembly of claim 1, wherein the shells of the first and the second sides each include an opening for inserting the PCM within internal volume and a cap that closes the opening.
 3. The transport container assembly of claim 1, wherein the first side and the second side are mounted to a tray assembly having a hinge disposed therebetween.
 4. The transport container assembly of claim 3, wherein the tray assembly includes a cover portion having a planar rigid support that is sandwiched between planar thermal sheets.
 5. The transport container assembly of claim 1, wherein the PCM of the first side and the second side is selected from a group consisting of salt hydrates, fatty acids and esters, and paraffins.
 6. The transport container assembly of claim 5, wherein the PCM of the first side and the second side is mixture of salt hydrates.
 7. The transport container assembly of claim 1, wherein the first side defines a plurality of recesses each sized to receive a single vial.
 8. The transport container assembly of claim 1, further comprising a sleeve that receives the housing assembly, and a shipping container that receives the combination of the sleeve and housing assembly, the sleeve sheets comprises sheets of metallized polyethylene terephthalate that define captured gas pockets.
 9. The transport container assembly of claim 8, wherein the gas pockets have an elongated tubular shape in parallel alignment with one another and argon gas is confined within the gas pockets
 10. The transport container assembly of claim 1, further comprising an exterior assembly having two sides coupled together, wherein the first and the second sides of the housing assembly are each attached to the corresponding side of the exterior assembly and aligned to mate together to form the interior cavity.
 11. A transport container assembly for transporting temperature-sensitive material, comprising: a housing assembly that defines an interior cavity that provides a stable temperature environment for securing biological material therein, the housing includes a first side and a second side that mate with each other to define the interior cavity therebetween, the first side includes a shell and a phase control material (PCM) within the shell, the shell defines an internal volume and the PCM is confined within the internal volume, and the second side includes a shell and a phase control material (PCM) within the shell, the shell defines an internal volume and the PCM is confined within the internal volume; and a shipping container that receives the housing assembly therein.
 12. The transport container assembly of claim 11, wherein the first side and the second side are disposed in a hinged tray assembly.
 13. The transport container assembly of claim 12, wherein the tray assembly includes a cover portion having a planar rigid support that is sandwiched between planar thermal sheets.
 14. The transport container assembly of claim 11, wherein the PCM of the first side and the second side is selected from a group consisting of salt hydrates, fatty acids and esters, and paraffin.
 15. The transport container assembly of claim 14, wherein the PCM of the first side and the second side is mixture of salt hydrates.
 16. The transport container assembly of claim 11, wherein the first side defines a plurality of recesses each sized to receive a single vial.
 17. A transport container assembly for transporting temperature-sensitive material, comprising: a housing assembly that defines an interior cavity that provides a stable temperature environment for securing biological material therein, the housing includes a shell and a phase control material (PCM) within the shell, the shell defines an internal volume that confines the PCM within the internal volume.
 18. The transport container assembly of claim 17, wherein the shell includes an opening for inserting the PCM within internal volume and a cap that closes the opening.
 19. The transport container assembly of claim 17, wherein the PCM is selected from a group consisting of salt hydrates, fatty acids and esters, and paraffin.
 20. The transport container assembly of claim 17, wherein the PCM is mixture of salt hydrates. 